Search This Blog

Django Unchained

Django Unchained is the newest film by director Quentin Tarantino, which means you automatically know it's going to have a ton of bloodshed in it. This film definitely has that, and may run about a half-hour too long, but overall was one of the better films I have seen lately. It also has an all-star cast, including Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson, and the humor throughout will keep you entertained despite its long runtime.

Django (Foxx) is a slave who was recently sold and is being transported to his new master. Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) comes upon him and other slaves walking through the night, and kills the white men transporting them. Schultz is a bounty hunter and needs Django to help him find the newest men whom he's been assigned to kill; Schultz has never met them, but they were Django's old masters. Schultz gives Django his freedom and befriends him while training Django to be a bounty hunter. Django also wants to find his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who was sold to different masters than him, and Schultz agrees to help him find her. Along the way they encounter a mean plantation owner (Don Johnson) and the rich owner of Candieland (DiCaprio), Calvin Candie, who currently 'owns' Broomhilda, and Django and Schultz must trick him in order to get her back.

First off, if you are easily offended, do not see this film. The N-word was used so many times throughout that you become desensitized to it, as another critic wrote, but that is how it was in the time period - two years before the start of the Civil War, in the South. There's a scene with the KKK that is actually really hilarious, as they complain about not being able to see through their masks with slits cut out for their eyes, and Jonah Hill has a cameo in that scene as well. Everyone in this film was fantastic but Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson stole the show, as well as Don Johnson in the limited amount of screentime he had; both Waltz and Leo have been nominated for a Golden Globe for this film, and so has the movie itself and Tarantino for best director (Tarantino has a cameo near the end, too, so watch for that).

Yes, see this movie. I can't say it's one I would watch over and over again, because of its insane amounts of bloodiness, but it's definitely one worth paying to see this holiday season. I was still thinking about the film the day after I saw it, and all of the funny parts in it, which is always the mark of a good movie. Tarantino wanted this to be more like a "spaghetti western," and we can tell he's trying for an "old school" look from the very beginning of the film, when he uses an old Paramount logo instead of the modern version. I'm not always a fan of his movies but this one may be his best yet, and it deserves all of its Golden Globes nominations as well as your attention at the box office.

Django Unchained is in theaters today, December 25th, and is rated R with a runtime of 165 minutes. 4 stars out of 5.

So we've all been there ... that time when you're on an important phone call, and then the call drops. Or even when you need to use the internet on your smartphone, only to realize that you're at your data limit for the month.

I drive all over the metro Detroit area for movie screenings; because of this, most of the time I know where I'm going, but sometimes, I'm in an unfamiliar area or at an unfamiliar theater and I need GPS to know how to get there and back.

A few months ago, I was headed to the AMC Forum (Sterling Heights area) and I wanted to know the best way to get home from there. My phone kept stalling ... and stalling ... and then the Maps app crashed! Gah! I was extremely frustrated. I was finally able to re-start the phone and get safely home, but it TOOK. SO. LONG. Had the Maps app worked the fir…

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. As long-time readers of this blog surely know, I travel quite a lot. A few years ago, I only took about 2-3 trips per year, not including trips in the state of Michigan (Grand Haven weekends, etc.), but this past year, I was fortunate in that I was able to travel very frequently.

I recently heard about a new travel site, DirectHotels.com, which is similar to Kayak.com, in that it searches all of the other travel sites (Orbitz, Expedia, etc.) to find the best deals for you. I gave it a bit of a test run to see if that is indeed true.

About the site:
DirectHotels.com is a new hotel comparison tool that challenges the big brands. Travelers can easily compare all the travel sites in one place to find the cheapest hotel. DirectHotels.com compares over 200 bookings sites, so users can be sure about its accuracy. Using DirectHotels.com means that you will never overpay.

I've written these past two years about Bookstock, a huge used book & media sale that takes place at Laurel Park Place, in Livonia, and it's returning again this year, from Sunday, 4/22 through Sunday, 4/29.Read more about the event over at my book blog! I was finally able to check it out last year, and they had a large mix of books and media (including DVDs, Blu-rays, and records).To learn more about Bookstock, click hereto visit my book blog, or visit their official site here.